happiness

Through the Eyes of Gidget: It’s An Inside Job

Posted by Barbara Techel
Through the Eyes of Gidget: It's An Inside Job
Gidget

I continue to make progress on my new memoir. Yay! So far, about 15,000 words written. I’ll share the title with you soon! I’m still contemplating a sub-title.

So often lately, it’s been such a joy to really see Gidget as the wise soul she is. Though it really is a feeling and something I feel on a deeper level than I did before. I continue to grapple with words for this as there does not seem to be adequate words to express the transformation within me that has occurred.

It happened again this morning as I walked onto the deck, to see Gidget lying here, and captured this photo. While yes, she is adorable (in my humble opinion), it is so much more than that. There is this deep respect for her as this sentient being with a purpose just as valuable as the purpose of you and me. The fact that she has walked beside me through the depths of my soul working through some pretty tough pain, speaks to the extent of love animals have for us. There are times when it feels so very palpable, like it did in this moment and getting this picture.

Gidget’s vital teaching for me, to really understand that I too, am a wise soul, and that it’s perfectly fine to own this. It took deep, personal work on my part, letting go of a past story, and a time of incubating in integration, to get to this new space of understanding. But truly, it’s an inside job to finding more peace and happiness for one’s life is what I believe.

Through the eyes of Gidget (and no, this isn’t the title of my book, as someone else gets that solely as her own 🙂 ), and understanding she was serving as a loving mirror for me, that I was able to peel back another crucial layer of truth. Shedding that layer has me not only seeing Gidget in a deeper scope of love for who she is, but also the reflection I now see of myself when I look in the mirror. And one that I am worthy and I’m…. well… oops…almost revealed the title. Stay tuned!  🙂

Speaking of this being an inside job to happiness…Dr. Joe Dispenza explains it beautifully in this short talk. Very worth the listen.

Happy Sunday!

XO,

Barbara

Sunshine on the Street

Posted by Barbara Techel
Sunshine on the Street. Spreading Love, Kindness and Joy.
My sign this year- Kindness Matters

The second annual “Sunshine on the Street” was held today in a neighboring city from where I live. The idea of Dr. Cindy Munson of Chiro-Health Care Center and her staff as a way of spreading love, joy and kindness.

All downtown businesses are invited to participate by making signs and standing outside their business for a half hour over lunch to make passerby’s smile and light up the downtown with lots of sunshine.

Such an easy and fun way to spread happiness! Hope you enjoy the short video as my way of helping to spread the happiness even further.

What Makes For a Creative Life?

Posted by Barbara Techel

What Makes for a Creative Life?

Yesterday I helped John load and unload two trailer’s full of wood for our woodstove which we burn during the winter months. We have a furnace, but enjoy trying to be more self-sufficient when we can. Besides the ambiance of a woodburning stove is so soothing to one’s soul.

But as we loaded and unloaded the wood I was fascinated by some of the shapes of the pieces, such as this one above. It’s an an art statement just as it is.

It had me wondering what it is that makes a creative life. I always used to closely associate it with what medium we may work with or try out such as writing, painting, drawing, or sculpting to name just a few.

When I think about my life, so much of it is creative in the way that we make choices for what works for John and I. Neither of us work in the corporate world having left there over 20-years ago. John with his own construction business which lends itself often to his own sense of creativity, and me with my writing, animal advocacy, and SoulCollage® workshops I teach.

But it’s more than that really. To see life as one big creative playground no matter what you are doing.

Like yesterday setting out with John to travel about 20 minutes on a sunny Sunday morning to get the wood. Feeling blessed to have the life I do with John who is so good to me and makes me happy.

Working with our hands, throwing the pieces into the trailer, being out in nature listening to the birds, feeling the wind in our faces and the sun on our backs.

Seeing the beauty in each piece of wood, imagining how it started out as a seedling and grew into a magnificent tree, then chopped down for many different purposes.

Creativity is all around me at all times. It’s in the way I plan our meals, decorate our house, hang out with my dogs, talk with John, go for walks, practice yoga, and meditate. This is, in part, what makes my life feel so creative.

It’s about being open to how we see the world through our own eyes and feel into it into the depth of our hearts. It’s about making the conscious choice of staying in awareness of this thing called life and accepting all that we can see, but also the mystery of it, too.

It’s about following your hearts calling even when times feel tough. It’s making it work despite the odds stacked against you at times. It’s really, to me, about listening to the inner truth that is there if you wish to hear it.

And I think it really is about pausing often, listening to that inner realm, and capturing what it is that matters most to you… and then living from that place within that makes your heart sing.

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